Why John Bolton should go

byRobert Nagleon4/3/2005

Great piece by Suzanne Nossel on why John Bolton shouldn’t be named UN ambassador. This comes from democracyarsenal, a great grouplog on international affairs (sort of what Tapped is to domestic policy). I think liberals are resigned to giving Bush some leeway on his cabinet appointees. But there’s something to the point that Americans can’t punt this one as well.

A lot has to do with how you set tone. With the exception of perhaps Richard Holbrooke, UN ambassadors have been more conciliatory in tone. I worry less about Bolton’s foolhardy attempts to reform the system than the fact that in the event of a crisis, our point man will be a pariah in the diplomatic community.

I confess to not understanding the Republican Party’s machinations anymore. The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them which we are missing. Gamel Abdel Nasser.